The Queen’s birthday: The early years

April 20, 2017

Prior to becoming a direct heir
to the throne upon the abdication of her uncle King Edward VIII in 1936,
the Queen enjoyed a rather normal childhood along with her sister Princess Margaret. During her early years, the future monarch lived with her hands-on
parents, the Duke and Duchess of York, in a 25-bedroom home at 145 Piccadilly
in central London. We look back on interesting facts and events of the monarch's early years in the video below.

From her fascination with
horses to her dreams of marrying a farmer, Elizabeth could never have
envisioned that some nine decades later she would be
Britain’s longest-reigning monarch. That all changed when, at the age of 10, the young royal became heir
presumptive to the throne.

Princess Elizabeth pictured with her parents at her christening ceremony.

While her father,
King George VI, was secretly horrified at the thought that Elizabeth would one day have to
be Queen, he was determined that she would be better schooled on affairs of
state than he had been. Lessons took place both within and outside the palace
walls.

Elizabeth attended countless
royal engagements, from horse shows to ceremonies to weddings. And she proved a
quick study. The King was so impressed with his daughter that he would often
remark on the similarities between Elizabeth and Queen Victoria. “From the
first moment of talking, she showed so much character that it was impossible
not to wonder whether history would not repeat itself,” Osbert Sitwell, a friend
of the Royal Family, recalls the King saying.

She went on to join the Auxiliary Territorial Service during the Second Word War and in 1947 she married the love of her life, Prince Philip.

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